Precious Nwonu, Enugu
The White House has restored access to CNN, Politico and MS NOW after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to lift its ban on the three news organisations.
The outlets regained access on Thursday, hours after US District Judge Timothy Kelly ruled that their exclusion from the White House press facilities was likely unconstitutional.
CNN, Politico and MS NOW had sought an emergency court hearing after their journalists were reportedly turned away from the White House despite the judge’s ruling.
The hearing was later cancelled after the White House restored their press access.
The dispute began after President Donald Trump barred the three outlets, initially accusing them of publishing what he described as “fake news.” The administration later argued that their exclusion was justified by national security concerns.
However, in his ruling, Kelly questioned the administration’s national security justification, noting that Trump had not cited national security when the ban was first announced.
Kelly said the outlets were likely to succeed in their argument that the administration had failed to provide adequate due process before revoking their press passes.
The judge ordered the immediate restoration of the journalists’ access and temporarily halted enforcement of the ban for 14 days.
The White House director of operations subsequently informed the court that the outlets’ press passes and confiscated badges had been restored by 9:45am.
The three organisations later confirmed that their journalists had been allowed back into the White House.
The dispute occurred as Trump hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House ahead of a state dinner, limiting some television networks’ coverage of the engagement.
Fox News, NBC, CBS and ABC had earlier withdrawn from White House coverage in solidarity with the affected outlets. It was not immediately clear whether the networks would resume their regular White House broadcasts following the restoration of access.
In court filings, the US Department of Justice had argued that reports published by CNN, Politico and MS NOW posed national security concerns. Government lawyers cited stories involving missile stockpiles, construction of a White House ballroom and the recent Republican midterm convention.
The three media organisations rejected the administration’s position and accused the Trump administration of violating their constitutional rights.
In a joint statement, they said their legal action was aimed at defending the principle that the government should not determine what the press reports.
More than 50 media organisations from across the political spectrum also filed a brief supporting the lawsuit, including Fox News, The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal.
The dispute is not the first instance of a US administration facing criticism over restrictions on media access.
In 2009, the Obama administration attempted to exclude Fox News from a specific press pool interview with an administration official. Following objections from other networks participating in the pool, Fox News was ultimately allowed to attend.